Laurie Spiegel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWKDsfARXMc

One of my favourite electronic musicians ever. This is her stunning "Improvisation" ^^^^^

Computer programmer specialising in algorhythmic composition and classically trained composer/musician.

Much of her work has been collected on "Obsolete Systems" which you can find if you look hard enough. But probably my favourite is the "Expanding Universe" LP which goes from burbling landscapes to the sublime "ambient" (eurgh) masterpiece, The Expanding Universe, a 20 minute exploration of subtle shifting palettes of electronic noise which verges on the truly sublime.

Her site is here: http://www.retiary.org/ well worth a ramble through.

Definitely someone who needs a dedicated thread here.

Here's one of her best-known works, Appalaichan Grove:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01hHJ8YfBk

I really wish Patchwork were on YouTube, because that's one of my favourites.

I know there's a lot of afficianados of early electronics on this forum - anyone else a fan?

I found out about her through this DVD I bought. Its called OHM. Its got all this great old school stuff. Interviews with Moog. A nice video of Clara Rockmore and loads of other tight shit. It even has the first song composed on a computer. Some of that stuff is still the future! haha

wow, this music sucks

lol

  On 2/11/2010 at 1:38 PM, illfly mandog said:

I found out about her through this DVD I bought. Its called OHM. Its got all this great old school stuff. Interviews with Moog. A nice video of Clara Rockmore and loads of other tight shit. It even has the first song composed on a computer. Some of that stuff is still the future! haha

Ah, I was hoping that DVD you mention would be a documentary rather than a compendium. But, still, nice to have it all in one place.

I just love the idea of this avante guard musician let loose at Bell Labs. That really appeals to me.

Jazzy but still awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4593D44Lid4

That's awesome, and a truly amazing film clip, but it's actually Suzanne Ciani not Laurie Spiegel. :-)

Though I will forgive the error for the gratuitous oscilloscope usage in the film.

But of course, I just thought it fit the vibe of this thread. I forgive your forgiveness

She has a very impressive career and a doc. would be great. not only was she on the cutting edge of electronic technology but she was a multi instrumentalist as well. truly a beast.

Adore her.

I love reading about her work with older consoles. I know she likes experimenting with sound still, recently with electric banjo and digital signal processing.

Digital signal processing? She be doin calculations!

Here is a link to her Obsolete Systems album with sample clips on Amazon for those too lazy to search! Keep in mind this was early '70s thru early '80s experimentation. Laurie Spiegel

  On 2/11/2010 at 1:14 PM, Masonic Boom said:

I know there's a lot of afficianados of early electronics on this forum - anyone else a fan?

I am a fan! Not yet an aficionado by any means, but love coming across early electronic music that was way ahead of its time.

Posted something a while back asking if anyone knew how to acquire Crash Course in Science recordings w/out purchasing the $120 vinyl collection. http://forum.watmm.com/topic/51563-crash-course-in-science-alternative-to-vinyl-on-demand

Sounds more underground pop-ish within the context of today's electronic music but I love this shizz! it's fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdNH1urxXOw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w51l6kJje6g

I have a friend who put together a massive DVD-R of loads of early electronica for me because he knew I was a Delia Derbyshire fanatic. I'd just found The Expanding Universe on a blog so he sent me as much as he could find. I've been digging through the rest of the early electronics stuff... some of it is totally delightful and really accessible but some of it (especially the Dutch Popular Electronics stuff) is a bit heavy going.

But Spiegel is one of those composers whose stuff, although incredibly brainy and mathematical is also incredibly light and beautiful and quite accessible.

I suppose she's a bit later than the really early stuff, which is 50s and 60s, and the technology had advanced from the days of Oramics and the Radiophonic stuff, but it's still amazing how progressive and out-there the thinking behind this music was. And yet the results are still so ear-pleasing and lush.

Ah, listened to the Crash Course in Science YouTubes and it's a bit later than I was thinking - sounds very much of the same generation as early Cabaret Voltaire and Art of Noise? Cool, tho.

Interviews. The interviewer's questions are a bit but kind of gives you a sense of her philosophy and methods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzOJtZYsGSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oconRQBZff0

Everyone already knows this one, but one of my favorite albums to wake up to. '73

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Knhr4KXq0c

I've got a crush on the bell labs interview

Gonna watch those again after the morning maths... Damn, I meant to stick Patchwork on the iPod but I forgot.

Beautiful interview here http://sexmagazine.us/articles/laurie-spiegel/1 I don't think I've ever heard her music except in Hunger Games and now I really want to hear more.

It is so good to hear these thoughts expressed. It's easy sometimes to think that they're extinct.

Get this: http://www.discogs.com/Laurie-Spiegel-The-Expanding-Universe/release/3866978

One of the best reissues of the year!

i'm a big fan of early electronics (at least still getting into it) but i couldn't get into her work at all. to me, it sounds like mid-90s casio watch tunes repeated for 10 minutes plus. i did enjoy 'kepler's harmony of the worlds', but that was written by kepler and just fed into her machine.

i do like the fact that there were more than a few women doing this, and i also love the pictures of her hunched over her synth programming music, but did nothing for me

I'm really enjoying the stuff on the Pitchfork article. Some big sounds from simple ingredients.

  On 12/18/2012 at 5:55 AM, sweepstakes said:

Beautiful interview here http://sexmagazine.us/articles/laurie-spiegel/1 I don't think I've ever heard her music except in Hunger Games and now I really want to hear more.

 

It is so good to hear these thoughts expressed. It's easy sometimes to think that they're extinct.

may i ask how/where you found this interview?

cause i had it in my twitter feed, retweeted by a person i follow, and posted it to elektron-users.com earlier today. now there's this thread here with links to lots of useful info about Laurie Spiegel (didn't even know her before reading that interview), bumped by your post.

in any case, it's really cool how the internet works imo lol.

Yep, found it at elektron-users. Didn't know any other WATMMers were on there :)